Police: woman created false public alarm

ST. ALBANS – A Williston woman is accused of creating a false public alarm in Franklin County.

The St. Albans Police Department was alerted at about 9:17 a.m. Monday with a report that Dawn Atwood, 27, of Williston, was being held against her will by an ex-boyfriend, possibly in the St. Albans area.

The ex-boyfriend’s Fairfax home was unoccupied, police said. Police tried to call Atwood’s cell phone throughout the day and created a four-mile search radius in St. Albans based on location information obtained by those calls.

Later, at about 2:45 p.m., police learned that Atwood was hiding in a bathroom in the town’s Walmart store. Officers then responded to Walmart to speak with Atwood, who police said was emotional and who did not want help.

Her ex-boyfriend was also at the store and cooperated with police; he said Atwood had fabricated the story.